Green-powered data storage project to elevate Brisbane’s digital economy

Quinbrook’s ‘Supernode’, a data storage campus project, will connect Brisbane directly to the global cloud for the first time and support the development of a digital economy via renewables and battery storage.

Supernode is touted by the energy transition investment manager as one of the largest battery storage installations in the Australian National Electricity Market.

The permit-approved data storage campus project offers power supply access and redundancy with three high voltage transmission connections supporting ‘mission critical’ data centre operations.

A digital infrastructure project combining energy and data storage capacity, Supernode will be powered by Queensland-sited renewable power projects.

The site at Brendale is 3kms from Brisbane’s central business district and will intersect the new Torus dark fibre data cable currently under construction. This in turn will directly connect Brisbane for the first time to the international sub-sea cable recently landed at Maroochydore from Guam.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, which launched the project, secured a 30-hectare site at Brendale. The investment specialist also obtained both the Foreign Investment Review Board and local planning permissions for a multi-tenant campus of up to four hyper-scale data centres. These will connect directly to the adjacent South Pine substation offering up to 800MWs of power supply capacity with three separate high voltage connections. 

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These high-capacity power connections, together with Queensland’s renewable power resources, will, according to Quinbrook, offer data centre customers at Supernode renewable power cost savings relative to interstate campus locations.

Quinbrook has stated that it plans to procure, self-develop and construct the renewables supply capacity needed by Supernode customers as their energy demands grow.

Quinbrook has also lodged a ‘code assessable’ planning application for a 2,000MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to be co-located within the Supernode precinct. This will aim to resolve critical stability issues facing the Queensland power grid as recently identified by AEMO.

The hopes behind the BESS are to add valuable dispatchable supply services to the grid to firm additional renewables capacity and put downward pressure on power prices while reducing the risk of power outages for locals.

The planned hyperscale data storage and BESS infrastructure will represent an estimated capital investment of up to $2.5 billion when fully constructed.

David Scaysbrook, Quinbrook co-founder and managing partner, stated in announcing the launch of the project: “Supernode is the latest example of our strategy to make impactful and ‘hard to repeat’ investments that help decarbonise energy intensive data centre operations using renewable power solutions. This is the critical communications infrastructure needed by progressive industry in this State and it represents a competitive advantage in achieving Net Zero operations at low cost.”

Brian Restall, senior director of Quinbrook also stated: “Adding large scale battery storage and renewables to address high power prices, grid stress and the decarbonisation of our power supply at the same time is a remarkable investment opportunity by any measure.

“We extend our thanks and appreciation to the Government of Queensland and to Moreton Bay Regional Council whose support has enabled us to reach this important milestone.”